Despite the lack of updates during the past few months, Translucency is still live and well. I’ve been working with Microsoft for several weeks to iron out some issues between my developer account and the Microsoft store, which was preventing me from moving forward with my first app.

With that all cleared up, I’m happy to announce that Sleepy Kids is now available on the Windows Store! Here is the direct link to the Store page: https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9nblggh1jn8t

Sleepy Kids is a Universal Windows App that will run on any Windows 10 device. Information is also available on the download page.

Most of my development time has been spent on my upcoming game, After. I’ve made a ton of progress since my last post, but I’m not yet ready to reveal too many details. There’s a link on the navigation bar that will lead to the development blog. All information and updates related to After will be on there. I’ll be activating the link soon, and updates will start becoming more frequent.

I’ll also be launching a Kickstarter campaign for After. My goal is to have that ready by February, but nothing’s set in stone. You’ll know when it’s close, though. I’ll be plastering information all over the place with annoying frequency to reach as many people as possible. You, my dear friends, will be asked to help spread the word!

Well, that’s all for now. Feel free to check out Sleepy Kids, report any bugs, rate and review it on the store page, etc.

It’s been a while since I posted an update. Wow, almost 4 months already? I’m definitely overdue to inform my avid followers on my recent activities. (I’m laughing maniacally to myself in a dark room downstairs while writing this to myself.)

I’ve been hard at work on my first Windows Store/Windows Phone app. I started with the Windows 8.1 framework, but since the Windows 10 UWP (Universal Windows Platform) has recently become available, I ported it over to that.

I’m almost finished, but there are a few features I won’t be able to test until the Windows 10 Store becomes available in 4 days. Hopefully I’ll have it wrapped up and out the door quickly. I’m excited to experience the new Windows marketplace from a developer’s perspective!

After that, I’ll be diving into the creation of a game for the Windows 10 platform!

Edit: Oh! I almost forgot to mention. My application was accepted by Microsoft BizSpark, and they are \”sponsoring\” me in the creation of my game and other apps. They gave me a free 3-year subscription to MSDN, which lets me download and use all kinds of software for free. I also get $150 a month to spend on Windows Azure services. With Windows Azure, I can create virtual machines and other cloud services. I’m currently running 2 VMs, one to run as a server for my game and another as a development test environment. Microsoft is really kinda awesome!

I’ve released the official 1.0 version of Photo Manager. I’m considering it now to be out of beta! Woohoo! The Backup tab has been removed from the Advanced mode since I don’t think the feature would be very useful. The Clean Up Duplicates feature is completed.

I made some changes to the website as well. I took down the Source and Subscribe links since they weren’t being used much. The mailing list thing was kind of overkill anyway. I’ve moved my source control from Bitbucket to Visual Studio Online, and I started using Team Foundation instead of Git. And boy, do I love it! I’m not sure if I’ll make my repos public again, though.

Now that all my desktop apps are in general release, I’m going to focus on mobile apps for Windows and Windows Phone. I still have other ideas for desktop apps, and I’m sure I’ll get around to them some day. I’ll be posting updates when I have something available on the Windows Store!

ABC has undergone some more updates! It can now compile and run C# snippets on the fly, which might be useful for other developers. I also improved the fluidity of the animation when docking the window and the speed at which \”check for updates\” completes.

Quick update. Version 1.2 of A Better Clipboard is now available. It has a new \”Dock Window\” feature that will send the window to a small square in the corner of the screen that can be clicked to expand it. It’s always on top of other windows and can be quickly collapsed to the corner again, making it easier to keep open while working in various other applications.

It also has the new fade-in effect I’ve been adding to the splash screens, and you can now click to close it immediately.

I’ve been working with Microsoft’s Multilingual App Toolkit, learning how to translate my applications to various other languages. IFFY was the first app I was practicing with, and I’ve been successful in adding support for 11 different languages. Only the standard, installed version has the additional language resources. The portable version is only available in English.

On a similar note, I added a translation widget to my website. See, up there, to the left? That’s it.

Photo Manager version 0.9.5.3 is out, and it comes with a couple new features! The most exciting addition, in my opinion, is the Group by Event feature. This will let you easily group pictures by event and move them into their own folder. Events are determined by the length of time between when one picture was taken and the next/previous. You specify a time span, and any groups of pictures that have no gaps larger than that span will be shown to you with the option of grouping some or all of them.

While my wife was testing it out tonight, she made some really awesome suggestions for ways to improve the UI and functionality, so expect to see some refining in future updates.

Other additions include a \”Check for Updates\” command in the Help menu (geared toward the portable version) and an improved transition between the Basic and Advanced modes. Previously, it required a restart of the application, which would cause problems if using the portable version, and you hadn’t unblocked the file.

In addition to planned updates for Photo Manager, IFFY, and EFF, I also have another application that I’ll be releasing soon. This new program is the first WPF app I’ve made (versus Windows Forms), so I’m pretty excited about it. I learned a lot while making it. :)

I think that’s about it for updates. Well, except for the fact that I’m posting from my brand new laptop that I got for Christmas! Thanks, honey! <3 Hopefully everyone had a good Christmas and will have a safe New Year’s!

With Christmas almost upon us, it’s been all kinds of busy. I think my wife and I are ready for a vacation. =) But I’ve still managed to make some progress on Photo Manager! The \”Group by Event\” feature is almost completed, and I’ll be releasing a new version as soon as it’s done.

I’ve also got some new ideas brewing. On top of the serverless chat program idea, I’ve also been thinking about creating a \”Copy Anything, Paste Anywhere\” program. Kind of like an unlimited clipboard that can store formatted text, which could then be pasted anywhere. For me, it’d be a place to merge a bunch of templates for various programs and provide \”templates\” for applications that don’t have any, such as things like Lync.

I also want to do a network speed tester, a WIM-mounting tool, and a tool I made at work for storing alternate credentials (administrator credentials, primarily) and launching applications in an elevated process.

Another project that may or may not come to fruition would be on Windows 8.1/Windows Phone and would involve a volume meter. More on that later if it looks like it will pan out. =)

Both IFFY (I’ll Find Files for You) and EFF (Empty Folder Finder) are available for download!

IFFY can help you find misplaced files by performing searches based on answers to simple questions. There are also advanced filters for narrowing your search.

EFF searches for empty folders, typically left behind by software uninstalls, so you can remove them. It’s mainly for picky people like me who like to keep their file system extremely tidy. There are also options for finding nearly-empty folders.